News and Progress

Student services project on track

“Our goal is to free them (SRC staff) up to deal with more complex and critical student needs—not ‘which forms am I missing?’ but ‘how can I afford college?’” she says. ”

Kara Saunders, Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

The Student Services Transformation (SST) project is on track
for a 2011 rollout of UB’s new Student Information
System, renamed the HUB, the Web-based software
program that will integrate the university’s student services
systems, including academic advising, admissions, course
registration, financial aid, student accounts, grading and
transcripts.

The HUB, part of the IT Transformation initiative of UB 2020, is
giving UB students a “one-stop,” online student center
that provides easy access to student information and services,
including student account transactions, course enrollment and
checkstop status.

Kara Saunders, assistant vice provost for undergraduate
education and member of the SST project management team, says
she’s excited by the progress of the SST project.
“We’re getting a few more rooms unpacked,” she
says, comparing the SST project, under way since 2007, to moving
into a new house.

Staff members responsible for processing admissions applications
and scheduling classes have been using the new system since August.
Domestic (U.S.) applicants seeking undergraduate admission to UB
for the summer and fall of 2011 are now able to access the
system to view the status of their applications.

Saunders says that students are able to access the
HUB to apply for financial aid and register for classes.
Faculty members are also able to use the system to see
their class lists as students register.

The goal is to have the HUB fully implemented by next
summer, she adds.

Students are able to access the HUB through the MyUB
information portal. Saunders predicts that providing students with
a self-service portal to transact these services will greatly
reduce the number of calls made to the Student Response Center and
other offices that typically are students’ first points of
contact.

“Our goal is to free them (SRC staff) up to deal with more
complex and critical student needs—not ‘which forms am
I missing?’ but ‘how can I afford
college?’” she says.

The HUB is supported by PeopleSoft’s student
information software platform, Campus Solutions, the benefits of
which include improved functionality and flexibility, as well as
commonality with hundreds of other universities using the software,
Saunders explains. She notes her team can get real-time answers to
software questions through a shared online forum for
higher-education users. “We didn’t realize at first
just how helpful this coordination would be,” she says.

Faculty also are encouraged to engage students in the SST
process by developing class lessons around the HUB, especially
as it pertains to marketing, computer systems, organizational
management or other relevant topics.

“We’d like people to understand that this can be an
educational pursuit,” Saunders says.

UB is strategically transforming the delivery of academic
support services across the university. More efficient delivery of
services will better support academic excellence and create savings
that can be invested in our academic mission.